A blog that follows my physical and mental preparation for the ice hockey season and explores the links on how I draw from my hockey experiences to life in general.

Friday, 26 February 2010

For this season I am giving up:

If you’re religious, you know that lent is a time for giving up. Where I’m not religious, I thought that to improve my intensity for the up and coming season, I’ll give something up as well.

During the year when I suffered my knee injury and was cleared to play, I scored points in every single game, all the way to the finals. Back in those days, I was a vegetarian and I didn’t drink. To make sure that I squeeze every last bit of performance out of my body, I have decided to give up alcohol for the duration of the summer cup.

Providing that I achieve my ultimate goal, I will carry the pledge through to that season as well. So after 5th of March I shall not be consuming any alcohol for the duration of the season.

What is my motive for this? For those of you who don’t know I didn’t drink for 2 years due because I didn’t like the taste of it, or the hangovers. Where I don’t drink that much now days, I find that when I do, it takes me a lot longer to recover, which hinders my training and effectively playing as all our games are over the weekend. Further to this I hope that the approach will help me gain that extra bit of jump on the ice and allow for more adrenaline to course through my veins in games.

If I am to play this game for the maximum amount of time, I need to make sure that I do something that I have ignored in the past and take care of my body and listen to its requirements, rather than go hell for leather and try to push through serious injuries.